Ever since I can remember, I have always been the type of person who can’t see himself number #2.

I’ve always been highly competitive.

At whatever I have done, I’ve strived for excellence.

• It could have been striving to be the strongest student in school.
• It could have been striving to be the smartest student in the class.
• or It could have been striving to be the coolest person in the group.

Regardless of what it has been, I can separate it to:

1. Times of Embracing competition
2. Times of LETTING competition bring me down.

The further I let competition control me in a negative way, the less motivated I was to be the best.

Whenever I let it discourage me, being number #1 seemed impossible, then I quit, then I felt terrible.

On the other hand, whenever I chose to view competition in a more positive way, as a game, fun process, as something more productive and enriching – I could really get inspired and actually work harder in order to become a better person.

Embrace Competition (Thank me later)

Instead of LETTING competition get you down, EMBRACE it.

Instead of LETTING it take control over you, learn to love it, and use it to your advantage.

Instead of LETTING it discourage you, find inspiration in your top competitors. What my competitor do that I don’t that can help me better myself?

You don’t just “let” competition control your thoughts, your behavior, your life. You must stand up and say: “I love competition”. Because in fact there’s nothing bad about it, the opposite is the truth. You can learn and grow from competition, BUT – only if you have the right attitude…

Competition can be fuel – if you have the right attitude.

Jack and George both want to open a blog as a business.

Now let’s say Jack embraces competition while George gets discouraged by it.

While George thinks to himself:

“Well there are many great bloggers out there, I have no chance outweighing them”

Jack thinks to himself:

“Well there are many great bloggers out there, If they can, I can too”

Therefore, Jack will put in the effort and will make progress.

While George will be stuck in his head wondering why he’s so unlucky, and why everything is just not fair.

Sounds familiar, isn’t it?

We all at one or several points in our lives, have found ourselves with George’s attitude, complaining we have no chance.

But what if we will start looking at competition differently?

What if I could tell you that instead of being stuck, overwhelmed by competition in a state of doing nothing, you could have started a business, that might not be number #1 yet, but still generate for you some secondary income?

Wouldn’t you do things differently?

Well, I would…

Give yourself permission to take action in the face of fear.

Because Not Taking Action Right Now Will Cost You.

Not changing will cost you.

Changing will cost you, too, but in a good way.

Changing now will pay dividends in the future.

Although you do sacrifice in the present, future YOU will thank you. Don’t mess with future-YOU, he has no time for bullshit, and he doesn’t accept any excuses.

What it has to do with competition, you ask?

Well, when you choose to embrace competition, you refuse to let it control your mind, you are in charge of your behavior and you are taking action in the face of competition. Meaning, you wouldn’t stop chasing your goals, just because there are people better than you.

Because that’s what losers do. You aren’t a loser, aren’t you?

Here’s another view on “competition” I think you might find helpful…

There is no such thing as real competition when you create art.

The best has no competition, meaning if you do unique work, nobody can compete. Just as artists have no competition, do they?

Start looking at yourself as an artist, because you are. Your work is art. It might seem like a big word, “art”, but it is what it is.

Art definition:

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.

According to this definition, my blog is not just ‘work’, it’s art. I create it from my imagination, I express my self, I am skilfull, I am human (am I?). It has all the ingredients to be considered as art.

So if I am an artist, what’s preventing you from starting to take action and creating your own masterpiece?

Oh… It was just a joke, I am a human. And if I can, you can, too.

If she can, you can too. If he can, you can too.

If your work is original, authentic and fully expressive – then it belongs to you, and you only. Nobody can compete.

However…

If you are a copycat, you’re not worth a damn because what you have even not belongs to you in the first place. You are not competing with anybody, because you are outside of the game, you don’t have your own piece of art, your own piece of work.

When you’re amazing at what you do, you are expressing yourself in a way that makes you so different, so unusual.

Speaking about competition in that context is just not relevant because it’s not that you’re trying to surpass them, you’re just DOING YOUR OWN THING. Michaelangelo didn’t give a damn about other artists in his time, I promise you he was too busy creating extraordinary, remarkable art which we all know and will never be forgotten.

Don’t be a part of the pack, and you’ll automatically have no competition.

Do you think Michaelangelo was jealous of Da-Vinci?

Well, maybe a little, and if so it was more in an inspirational way than detrimental 🙂 But you’ve got my point…

Winners create something out of nothing by expressing their unique selves, while sheep copies all the time, unable to think for themselves, unable to create their own art.

Competition is unknown for the lone wolf. The man who goes on his journey, paving his path not how society wanted him to pave it, simply has no competition.

Be that lone wolf. And you won’t have troubles trying to compete with others. Because when you’re going your own way, you’re original. When you’re original, you’re getting busy doing your own creative thing, and you simply don’t have time for being jealous of others at the top.

Until next time,

Gal.